Lord Darigan
Lord Darigan 'is a Korbat-like being who is the ruler of the Darigan Citadel in Neopia on Neopets. Although considered a villain, he initially wanted what was best for his people, and eventually returned to being good. He was the main antagonist of the Champions of Meridell plot, but reformed during The Battle for Meridell, even helping defeat Lord Kass and taking his throne back. History At some point, Lord Darigan founded Darigan Citadel. Thanks to the power of The Orb, the land prospered and knew no war, famine, or plague. Unfortunately, because of the Orb's powers, it was eventually sought out by the Knights of Meridell, who wished to preserve their own kingdom, which was dying of famine and plague, and since Darigan's lands never knew war, they were unprepared to defend themselves, and the orb was taken from them with little resistance. His land was plagued by famine and poverty after Meridell stole the magical orb, and he and his people were cursed and transformed into demonic, aggressive beings as a result of the orb's absence. Bent on revenge, he spent many long years tracking down the one thing that could restore peace to his people. When he finally found the orb he began a bitter war that left Meridell devastated as his minions stopped at nothing until they returned the orb to their master; however, when the orb was retrieved, something wasn't right. The Orb was not undoing the curse, much to the dismay of Lord Darigan. Eventually, it's power and The Three (who were not revealed to be involved until the plot's sequel) corrupted Lord Darigan's heart, mind, and body, turning him into a fearsome beast until the orb was destroyed, seemingly destroying Lord Darigan. With the help of Neopians everywhere, Lord Darigan was defeated and Neopia was saved. In the events of the Battle for Meridell plot, he's shown to have survived, but lost his memories for a time, turning feral, but being rescued by a little girl named Sally, who took care of him in secret and dubbed him "Mr. Scary." Darigan was shown to care for the child and protect her until his memories returned while fighting off some Darigan soldiers who were attacking her. After this, he is shown to go back to wanting what is best for his kingdom and wanting to stop Lord Kass's evil plan. He tried to convince Lord Kass to not allow The Three to continue to control him, but Kass ran off and disappeared. When The Three tried to tempt Lord Darigan once more, he banished them from his mind, declaring that he did not need them. Since then, he has made peace with the other kingdom, and the two kingdoms live under a truce of peace that has lasted since the second war, although Darigan has not forgotten what Meridell had done to his Kingdom, and it is implied that relations are still uneasy. Species Speculation Darigan at a glance seems to be the only known Korbat to have arms that are separate from his wings or to have long legs. TNT in one editorial even suggested he may have been mutated, which would have to have occurred prior to the curse judging by the flashback art. However, TNT also refers to Darigan as"resembling a Korbat" rather than being one on multiple occasions in the editorial, suggesting he may, in reality, be something else. The Three also refer to him as a "bat-creature" suggesting he may not be an actual korbat. Appearance Lord Darigan is a tall Korbat(?) who is oddly humanoid in appearance compared to other Korbats. Unlike most Korbats, his arms and wings are separate, a trait that is never explained. Before the curse that befell Darigan Citadell, Lord Darigan was a white korbat(?) with a brown beard and mane, who wore white, green and yellow robes and head adornment of some form. His tail was covered in decals (similar to bracelets). After the curse, he became very skeletal in appearance, with what appeared to be exposed bone over his entire body. However, after coming out of hiding when Lord Kass invaded Meridell, he is shown to be covered in purple flesh, suggesting his skeletal appearance to be a result of the curse on his land, and suggesting he was recovering from it. His flesh is a pale purple, and it is suggested he lost his fur. He also gained two small horns protruding from his head. He has torn wings and large korbat ears that curve like horns. Art Inconsistency Darigan 45632.png 159 darigan.gif Neopet's art is very inconsistent regarding Darigan's lower jaw. Even within the Battle for Meridell plot itself, he regularly switches between his lower jaw still being bone, and his flesh having grown back over the jaw. It is, however, generally consistent that after the first Meridell plot, his hands are no longer skeletal, and he no longer has a large purple mane. Some users claim Lord Darigan sometimes wears a mask because of the existence of the NC Mall Lord Darigan mask item, but this is unlikely as there is very little evidence to back up this claim. Personality When his Kingdom had the orb, he was a peaceful pacifist, as his people knew no war. However, after the orb was stolen and their land was cursed, he and the rest of his people became far more aggressive as part of the curse that befell them. Lord Darigan wanted what was best for his kingdom, and was a dedicated ruler willing to do whatever it took to protect and rescue his people, and began a war against Meridell to steal back The Orb in hopes of lifting the curse upon his people and land. Once he regained the orb, and it failed to lift the curse upon his people, he was driven mad from the despair, and as a result, became corrupted by The Orb's power and The Three and vowed to take over Neopia, until he was defeated by an alliance between his people and Meridell. During his time as "Mr. Scary", he acts fairly bestial, but also highly protective of Sally. Once regaining his memories, he immediately begins to redeem himself and sets off to stop the war between Meridell and Darigan Citadel. However, it is heavily implied he still does not trust Meridell. Abilities *'Flight: 'Being a Korbat, he has the wingspan necessary to fly. This is important as his home is literally a castle in the sky. *'Combat: He shows great combat prowess against Lord Kass, and in the first Meridell plot is one of the most powerful opponents. Stats can be found here Trivia *Darigan is one of the few plot antagonists to later redeem himself in another plot. **Out of the plot antagonists who redeemed themselves, he is the only one to do so in a separate plot rather than in the same one. *Unlike Skarl and Hagan, he does not have anything you can do in his castle and instead has the guards chase you out. **Unless you joined Darigan's side in the Champions of Meridell plot, in which case he thanks you for your service, and rewards you with an avatar. *The reason why he is a Lord rather than a King when he clearly rules over Darigan Citadel is never explained. *TNT confirmed that Lord Darigan founded the Citadel, hence why it is named after him. External Links *Editorial Archive results for Lord Darigan *Lord Darigan images on Dr. Sloth's Image Emporium *Book of Ages Gallery Dariganschambers.gif|Present Day in his Citadel Lord darigan.gif darigan.gif Darigan Evil.jpg|Gallery of Evil picture bfmplot_13b.gif 197_lisha_darigan.gif 159_darigan.gif lg_325.gif meridell_conc1.gif evil_dari.gif 89_darigan.gif|In the Champions of Meridell Plot darigan_spec_hit.gif|Corrupted by The Orb in The Battle for Meridell 004.jpg 001.jpg 130.jpg dariganhero.jpg caption_1229.gif 021.jpg caption_633.gif caption_970.gif contestant247.gif darigan still watching.jpg 064.jpg battle-for-meridell_barn.png|As "Mr. Scary" meridell_day_2007.png champions-of-meridell_spectre.png bfmplot_8a.gif tumblr_luhecfY89g1qz5g4uo6_1280.jpg darigan iii.jpg darigan 45632.png darigan lord darigan.png 11 darigan lord darigan.jpg toy_uncursed.gif|Uncursed-Lord Darigan Action Figure 16803.gif|Bat Thing Usuki Medieval_battle8.gif Videos OFFICIAL Champions of Meridell Chapters 9-12 (No Subs) OFFICIAL Battle for Meridell Chapter 8 (Subbed) Category:Characters Category:Korbats Category:Gallery of Evil Category:Battledome Opponents Category:Anti-heroes Category:Reformed Villains